Aston Villa's Christian Benteke fires home his spectacular equaliser that changed the game against Norwich City. Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA

There is no respite for Chris Hughton. A week after victory over Tottenham Hotspur released the pressure valve, the Norwich City manager watched his side succumb to a chastening defeat that raises fresh questions about his future. The sarcastic cheers and chants from the Norwich fans with more than 20 minutes remaining will not have escaped the attention of David McNally, the club's grim-faced chief executive, and the rest of the Carrow Road board who were present here.

Having taken the lead through Wes Hoolahan, the man they refused to sell to Aston Villa in January, Norwich capitulated in alarming fashion in a remarkable 16-minute first-half spell when Paul Lambert's side struck four times. Christian Benteke scored twice – the first a sensational overhead kick – to take his tally for the season into double figures, Leandro Bacuna added a superb third and Sébastien Bassong, who endured a day to forget, scored an own-goal four minutes before half-time to complete Norwich's misery.

Norwich never looked like staging a fightback during a second half when the game was dead and the travelling supporters kept themselves entertained by mockingly singing "shot on target" after a rare attack, ironically applauding passes and calling for Lambert, their former manager, to "give us a wave".

Hughton described the result as "a real hammer blow" and said that he understood the supporters' reaction after a defeat that leaves Norwich 15th in the table, four points above the bottom three and with a tough run-in to come. "They've seen a team start very well and then within a 15-minute period are 4-1 down, so any frustrations that the crowd have I can understand," the Norwich manager said. "They travel a long way to watch their football team."

Asked whether he was confident he would remain in charge for the remaining 10 matches, Hughton said: "I put all my efforts into the job that I do. It's not something that I think about because the only way I can affect that [staying in the job] is by getting results. We are one of probably 10 teams in that bottom half that have had difficulties at some stage … I hope to get good enough results."

For Villa the league table makes much better reading than it did at the start of the day. A first win in five games – they had failed to score in their previous three - lifted the Midlands club to 11th, seven points clear of the drop zone. It was Lambert's fourth successive victory over his former employers and will be remembered as the day when Benteke scored a goal of the season contender.

There had been no sign of what was to come in the early stages, when Norwich got off to the perfect start and Villa looked nervous. It seemed almost inevitable that Hoolahan, who had tried to force through a move to Villa by handing in a transfer request, would get on the scoresheet. The midfielder converted Gary Hooper's cross with a sliding finish from eight yards and it was notable that he opted not to celebrate.

Norwich were looking reasonably comfortable but the complexion of the game completely changed from the moment Benteke equalised. With his back to goal and Joseph Yobo marking him tightly, Benteke took Ron Vlaar's diagonal pass on his chest and executed a wonderful overhead kick, volleying powerfully beyond John Ruddy.

Two minutes later Benteke registered his second, when he got in front of Bassong to head in Ashley Westwood's corner. Although Hoolahan had a chance to equalise, only to be denied by Brad Guzan and Fabian Delph, Norwich were on the ropes and, as Hughton admitted, "couldn't handle the power and pace Villa had."

The third goal was a case in point as Villa broke with alacrity. Karim El Ahmadi, Gabriel Agbonlahor and Andreas Weimann combined to release Bacuna on the right and the full-back stepped inside Bradley Johnson before curling a measured left-foot shot into the far corner. It was Villa at their counterattacking best.

Norwich were in disarray and worse was to follow. Delph, running on to Ryan Bertrand's pass in the inside-left channel, whipped a low centre towards the six-yard box that Bassong, under pressure from Agbonlahor, turned into his own net. Villa were home and dry.

"It wasn't a great start for us but for that half an hour period I thought we were blistering," Lambert said. "Christian's first goal probably set the tone for what was going to happen."